The Democratic Party is continuing to split over support of Israel, as their left wing increasingly is coming out against all military aid to the nation.
At a recent New York City Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) meeting, Congressman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez pledged to vote against any funding for military aid to Israel. Her previous stance on opposing sending offensive weapons to Israel, but supporting funding for the Iron Dome missile defense system, had landed her in hot water with some members of the organization. Last year, she had voted against an amendment to the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, proposed by former Congressman Marjorie Taylor Greene, that would have stripped Iron Dome funding from the bill.
Greene’s attempt to remove funding shows the convergence of anti-Israeli sentiment across segments of both the Left and the Right. But the shift in attitudes is currently having its most pronounced effect on the Democratic coalition, as Palestinians ascend in the pantheon of third-world brown-skinned victims who can do no wrong.
Ocasio-Cortez had previously claimed that U.S. aid for Israel had “[…] enabled a genocide in Gaza, and I think we have thousands of women and children dead […] that was completely avoidable.” She called for making aid conditional on foreign governments following human rights laws.
A regular debate over the extent to which the U.S. should support Israel would be one thing. Unfortunately, as anyone who witnessed 2024 knows, the Left’s contributions to the discussion typically involved playing Hamas dress-up, and rampant vandalism. It was essentially Black Lives Matter Part 2, with less public sympathy.
Still, the Democratic base has proven increasingly successful at pushing their leaders to at least mouth their platitudes. California State Senator Scott Wiener, a prominent Jewish Democrat who is running for Nancy Pelosi’s congressional seat, recently shifted to accusing Israel of genocide. California Governor Gavin Newsom recently referred to Israel as “[…] sort of an apartheid state,” before backtracking somewhat.
Democrats refusing to say no to their radical wing is nothing new. If this issue splits the party against itself and keeps them out of power for the foreseeable future, their voter base will be doing the country a service.
